Thomas b



(No Model.)

T. BHOWE. GAR HEATING APPARATUS.

Patented July;-

l l B88.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Orrien.

THOMAS E. HOIVE, OF SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO EZRADE WVITI, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-H EATiNG APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 386,322, dated July 17,1888.

Application filed March 4, 1887. Serial No. 229,733. (No model.) i

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Tnoams B. HOWE, of Scranton, in the county ofLackawanna and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Car-Heating Apparatus; and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisIO specification, and to the figures and letters of reference markedthereon.

My present invention relates to that class of car-heating deviceswherein a separate fireproof car or vehicle is employed in which theheating apparatus is located, and then by means of suitable pipes orconduits the heated air is distributed throughout the train, and itdiflers from others of its class in that the air passed to the cars ofthe train is rendered zo purer and is more thoroughly heated beforebeing delivered into the car than heretofore.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional view of a car containing thevarious instrumentalities employed for carrying out my invention;

Fig. 2, a horizontal sectional view of a portion of a passenger-car,showing the hot-air-diffusing apparatus; Fig. 3, averticalcross-sectional view of the same.

Similar letters of reference in the several figures indicate the sameparts.

The car shown in Fig. 1 is constructed of fire-proof material,preferably iron, is somewhatsmallerthan an ordinary car,and adapted tobe coupled on a train of passengencars, in

5 the ordinary manner, either directly in rear of the engine or at therear of the train, as may be desired. XVithin this car is arranged asteam-boiler, B, preferably surrounded by a casing or partition, A,dividing the car into two parts, the one A a hot-air chamber containingthe steam-boiler and suitable steampipes, to be described, and theother, A into which the feed-door of the furnace-opens, and which theattendant occupies. This chamber 5 contains, also, a small rotaryengine, V, re-

ceiving steam from the boiler through apipe, X, and a dynamoelectricmachine connected therewith, so as to be operated to light the train,operate brakes, or for any other purpose.

The steam-boiler Bis of any desired pattern,

provided with a stack, 13, an ashpit, 0, closed tightly by a suitableeasing, a steamdome,water and steam gages, and all the otherappurtenances of a boiler.

As one of the objects of the invention is to 5 provide a heatingapparatus that is not liable to communicate fire to the cars of thetrain in case of accident, there is no direct opening to the air fromthe fire-box or ash-pit of the furnace, but combustion is supported bymeans of a stcam-jet-forcing apparatus, D, located below the grate andreceiving steam directly from the boiler, the small amount of airnecessary to support combustion when employing this form of apparatusreadily finding an en- 6 trance through minute perforations too small toprevent the outward passage of fire or coals, but permitting the readyentrance of air. The water for the boiler is supplied from a smallwater-tank, U, by means ofan injector, I, of any approved type.

The larger portion of the chamber A, in which the boiler is contained,is located at the top of the car, and in this portion of the chamber areprovided steam-radiator coils P I connected with the steamdome of theboiler, so as to receive dry steam therefrom, and provided withdrip-pipes M llLconnected through return-pipe N with the base of theboiler, so as to permit the water condensed in the pipes to return tothe boiler, as will readily be understood.

At the ends of the car are provided suitable openings for the externalair, controlled by dampers or registers J and communicating 8 5 withpassages leading over tanks of water, K, to the interior of the chamberA. This water,

K, serves to catch and hold all the dust in the air and render the samepure when delivered within the chamber. The surface, being kept 9oagitated by the motion of the car, will serve the more effectually tocause the dust and cinders to sink to the bottom and leave a cleansurface at the top all the time. Any other suitable air-filtering devicemay be employed 5 such as one composed of wire-gauze, hair, and wool, asdescribed in Letters Patent granted me September 8, 1885, and probablythis would be the preferred construction; or, if desired, the filtersmight be located at the top of the cars and provided with suitabledeflecting devices for directing the air through them, as shown indotted lines at W, Fig. 1.

F F represent a hot-air pipe extending from the top of the chamber A,where it is provided withabell'mouth,H,horizontallyto thesmokestack,into and down the latter to the top of the boiler, thence into thesteam-space, where it extends back and forth in any desired number ofcoils, and from thence to a pump, E, the steam-cylinder of whichreceives steam from the boiler through the pipe E, asuitable valve beingprovided therein. Instead of pass ing the pipe down the smoke-stack, itmay be passed directly through the steam-space of the boiler.

G G represent the main air-pipes, connected to the discharge of the pumpE and extending throughout the length of the train, suitable valves, LL, being provided for regulating the supply of air to them, and suitableconnections, preferably similar to those employed for theair-brake,being provided between the cars, as will be readilyunderstood.

From the above description the operation of the various devices will beunderstood. The air entering the car at the ends (the quantity beingregulated by the registers J) passes through the filtering devices-inthe present instance the water-ohambers-and is cleared of all dust andimpurities and ready, when properly heated, to be introduced into thecars of the train from the chamber A. This air cir-- culating in thechamber Ais thoroughly heated both by contact with the surface of theboiler and by the steam-coils P P, located therein; but it will be notedthat-the door to the fire-box of the furnace is not in this air chamber;hence no gases or smoke can enter from the latter and be discharged intothe cars. The steam-pump is now started by opening valve in pipe E, andthe heated air from Ais drawn through the pipe F (the end H beinglocated at the highest part of the car, Where the air is the hottest) tothe steam-space of the boiler, where it is superheated to a very highdegree by the dry steam therein; thence it passesthrough the pump and isdischarged into the mains G, as will be readily understood, when it isdistributed, in the cars in a manner about to be described.

In Figs. 2 and 3 are shown the devices for distributing the heated airwithin the cars composing the'train. In the lower corners of thepassenger-cars are located boxes or chambersS, extending the length ofthe car and provided at suitable intervals, preferably between the seatsin the cars, with registers T, arranged to be opened or closed, asdesired.

The branches Q of the pipes G pass up through the floor of the car andalong through the chamber S, and are provided at suitable intervals withjets or openings controlled by cocks R, for regulating the amount of hotair entering the box.

From the above it will be seen that the air, strained and heated, ispassed into the cham- Instead of employing a reciprocating steampump, asshown, a rotary pump may be employed, or a fan to force cold air intothe car during warm weather, ice or a sultable refrigerating materialbeing placed 1n' the chamber A, thus insuring asupply of clean cool airto the passengers.

In case of an accident or collision, resulting in the overturning of thecar, it will be noted that this car. being fire-proof, cannot burn, andthat the boiler and the other parts, being constructed of strongboiler-iron, are not readily smashed, and, further, that the chambercontaining the fire is closed at all points except the few minuteperforations in the bottom of the ash-pit for the entrance of the airnecessary to support combustion.

- Various modifications of the inventlon can be devised Withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention; hence I do not desire to beconfined to the precise details of construction shown. For instance, thepipes F, instead of passing to the boiler, may pass directly to thepump-cylinder, as indicated in dotted lines, Fig. 1; also, if desired,the pipes G could be supplied with steam to heat the cars or dampen theair in them by means of the pipe Z, (shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1,)leading from the steam-dome to the pipe G above the pump, a suitablecock being provided there1n, as shown. a

The car containing the heating, lighting, and ventilating apparatus maybe connected at either end of a train or in the middle, the pipes Gextending from either end to permit this.

I claim as my invention 0 1. In combination with the main air-passageextending throughout the train, the chamber in communication with theexternal air, heating devicessuch as steam-radiator coils-locatedtherein,a steam-boiler,a passage communicating with the chamber andpassing through the steam space of the boiler above the water-line, anair-forcing apparatus located in said passage, and connections betweenthe passage mentioned and the passage extending throughout the train,whereby when the airforcing apparatus is operated the air 18 drawn intothe chamber and is there heated, whence it passes through thesteam-space of the boiler and is heated to a higher degree, and fromthence it is supplied to the main air-pipe and distributed to the carsas desired, substantiall y as described.

2. In a car-heating plant, the combination,

with a fire-proof car divided into compartanother compartment, fromwhence the air is ments,a steam-boiler, and steam-radiator coilsdistributed throughout the train, substantially IO communicatingtherewith located in one of as described.

said compartments, and a communication between said compartment and theexternal air, of an air-pipe leading from the top of said \Vitnesses:compartment through the steam-space of the ALEX. S. STEUART, boiler toan air-forcing apparatus located in FRED F. CHURCH.

T. B. HOWE.

